


Discretion

by Kerguelen (Slashmommy)



Category: Batman Begins
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-11
Updated: 2013-07-11
Packaged: 2017-12-19 03:10:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/878729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slashmommy/pseuds/Kerguelen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally written to a Rare_Pairs yahoo group back in 2005.  Lucius Fox on his relationship with Alfred.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Discretion

I suppose we've been hiding this thing between us for so long that discretion is ingrained in us. After all, we've had well over 20 years of practice at it. When we first got together we didn't tell anyone because of the times. Being gay back then wasn't exactly something you wanted to get out. Add to that the fact that I'm black and he's not, and well, you can see why we weren't yelling it out from the rooftops. It was love though, right from the start. From the moment Thomas Wayne brought me to his mausoleum of a house to discuss his train and I first met Alfred until today. Yes, I love that grouchy old Brit.

In all the time we've been together we've only been caught the once. It was the middle of the night and we thought it was late enough for me to make it down to Alfred's room with no one the wiser. We hadn't counted on "young master Bruce" having a nightmare and Thomas Wayne himself coming down to the kitchen to get him a glass of warm milk. We'd almost made it to the servant's quarters when the light came on and Thomas spotted us. I must admit we froze -- what exactly do you say to your boss when he spots you sneaking about in the middle of the night? Thomas Wayne wasn't your typical employer though. He wasn't your typical anything. He got this cockeyed grin, looked at me, looked at Alfred and said he wasn't sure which of us to congratulate so he'd have to congratulate us both. Then he finished his trip into the kitchen. He never said a word about it to Alfred, but he did pull me aside the next day to tell me that I'd better not hurt Alfred or there would be hell to pay.

It was easier to see each other after that. We were still careful, but we didn't have to worry to much about being caught. It was a good time for us despite what was going on in the world around us. That all ended the night the Waynes were killed.

At first, we didn't know what kind of changes losing the Waynes would mean. Without a job, we were worried that Alfred would have to return home to England. On top of that, Alfred was worried about Bruce. There was no close family for the boy to turn to and Alfred was terrified about what would happen to him. Poor man didn't know what to do when the will was read and he found he'd been asked to not only stay on at Wayne Manor, but to raise Bruce himself. I knew how  
much that meant to Alfred so I made sure that we kept ourselves well out of the public eye. I didn't want our relationship to jeopardize his custody of the only child he was ever going to have. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it. I may not have been publicly part of their little family, but I was always there even if Bruce didn't know it. Many a Christmas eve, Alfred would put Bruce to sleep while I worked on putting things together down in Alfred's room.

We thought about telling him when he went off to school, but the timing was never right. Besides how do you tell someone that you've been sleeping with their parent for years without their knowing about you? We couldn't figure it out.

Once Bruce had gone off to college, he rarely came home. He did call regularly, but it just wasn't the same. Alfred was getting tired of hiding our relationship and, frankly so was I, but he wanted to tell Bruce about us in person. Then word came down from the courts that they were making a deal with the s.o.b. that killed Thomas Wayne. Alfred didn't really want Bruce to go to the hearing, but he did look forward to seeing his boy even if the timing still wasn't right to tell him.

When Bruce disappeared, it just about killed my Alfred. People kept coming up with stories about how he'd been kidnapped or killed and his body dumped somewhere. I had a feeling about it though and so did Alfred. He knew in his bones that Bruce was alive and I was just as sure that he'd taken off to find himself. Despite being rich, Bruce wasn't raised rich. Sure, he lived in a manor and he had a butler, but that butler had also become his father over the years. Bruce was no stranger to the real world. Unlike many of his counterparts, Bruce knew how to do for himself. He could cook after a fashion, he could do his own laundry, he could even snake a drain if need be. Alfred had raised him to take care of himself despite having the money to not need to.

I suppose when they declared Bruce dead despite Alfred's protests, we could have come out, but there didn't seem to be much point. The idea that he had survived two generations of the Wayne family was weighed pretty heavily on him. Although, I must admit we did enjoy a nice little belated honeymoon when Alfred's inheritance came through. He took me to England and showed me all the places where he grew up.

When Alfred got the call from China, his first call was to schedule the jet. His second call was to me. His boy was finally coming home and Alfred couldn't have been happier. When they got back, I figured we'd finally tell him. Something was wrong though. When Alfred got back, he didn't want to talk about where Bruce had been or what he'd been up to while he'd been gone. If that weren't enough, I finally got to, officially, meet Alfred's boy. He strolled into my lab and claimed he was interested in working there. I'd been willing to pass off Alfred's strange mood as just the newness of Bruce being home, but that was downright fishy. Bruce had never shown the slightest interest in Wayne Enterprises. Then the things that interested him were, well, an interesting combination.

I'm both proud of Alfred's boy and want to knock some sense into him. I know that he's doing good running around as Batman, but I never want to hear Alfred's voice sound like it did when he called me to ask for help after the Scarecrow hit Bruce with that toxin. If I hadn't been able to come up with an antidote, I don't know what Alfred would have done. We were lucky this time. Next time, it might be something Alfred and I can't fix.

At least we have plenty of experience keeping things hidden...


End file.
